It was the sort of homecoming for numerous Wolf Pack players that they’ll quickly forget, as Nevada fell to 1-2 on the season after losing both the first round and consolation games of the NIT Season Tip-Off at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.  A feisty, and at times desperate Pepperdine team, who had lost 14 in a row dating back to last season, overcame a 9-point deficit to top the Pack, 76-75.

It was a heart-breaker for Nevada and its young core of players.  After starting slow for the third straight game, Nevada actually broke a 46-46 halftime game open early in the second half with an 11-2 run.  It appeared that the Pack learned a big lesson from their last opponent, the Pacific Tigers, who attacked the Pack right after intermission with a 13-4 run to take control of their first round game to defeat Nevada.

But it was the dominant play of Mychel Thompson, a former standout at Rancho Santa Margarita high school in Orange County, that stepped into the spotlight.  Many Nevada and Pac-10 fans know his younger brother, Klay, who was a former Pack recruit and is the returning Pac-10 scoring leader for the Washington State Cougars. But tonight was Mychel’s night.  He took the floor where his father was a college standout and simply destroyed the Pack.

It appeared at times as if Thompson, a relatively productive player at Pepperdine over a number of losing seasons, was done with the losing. He put the Waves on his back and scored a career-high 34 points in just 32 minutes, grabbing 4 rebounds, hitting three 3-pointers and dishing out2 assists in what was a memorable game for the oldest Thompson son.

Despite making a number of great plays, Nevada just couldn’t come all the way back against Pacific.  However, the youthful Pack roster found a new way to lose against the Waves.  They got tight against another veteran club, which features over a half-dozen upperclassmen among its top players.

For nearly the entire game though Nevada played poised and answered every run the Waves made at them. They were led once again by their lone returning starter, junior center Dario Hunt, who scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.  Freshman Jordan Burris, who is from nearby Bakersfield, had a career-high 15 points, including three trifecta’s, and 4 rebounds off the bench while starting point Deonte Burton, another freshman, had 10 points and a career-high 11 assists.  Sophomore Malik Story had 15 points, shooting 4-of-5 from three, as well.

Nevada took their first lead of the game, 20-17, when Burris canned a pair of free throws.  Another Nevada newcomer, junior Derrell Conner from Chicago, kept the Pack up three early on when he set-up freshman Kevin Panzer for an easy lap on a drive-and-dish move.  It capped an 11-3 run by the Pack. Hunt had back-to-back dunks in what was a back-and-forth contest in the first twenty minutes of action.

But Thompson was the story. He had 19 first half points—-just 6 short of his career high—-as he scored inside and outside to lead the Waves. Junior guard Keion Bell, who played with many of Nevada’s L.A. based players as a prep prospect, also had 15 first half points.

Burton bounced back from a 3-for-14 shooting night with 10 points and 11 assists

One of the more surprising aspects of the game was the fact Pepperdine went off as a 2 1/2 point favorite over Nevada, despite the fact that the Waves had lost 14 straight games dating back to last season.  Perhaps the folks in Vegas value experience more than most realize.

Nevada moved their second half lead to as much as 10 points when Burton hit Burris for another three at the 14:07 mark.  The Waves answered with a 9-0 run to cut it to 1. Senior Pepperdine guard Lorne Jackson scored 5 points during the mini-Wave run.  But Nevada responded, and after Burton found freshman Jerry Evans and senior Illiwa Baldwin for back-to-back lay-ups, the lead was back to 7.

But a re-energized Thompson reeled the Pack in finally.  The senior was part of 15 of the last 17 points for Pepperdine, scoring 13 points and diming out an assist as Pepperdine outscored Nevada 15-7 in the final six minutes of the game.  It was Thompson’s jumper with just over a minute remaining that gave the Waves their first lead of the second half at 76-74.

After a Burton free-throw cut the lead to one, Nevada secured the game’s last shot by forcing a turnover on Thompson—-his first and only mistake of the game. But Burton couldn’t find connect on the Pack’s final opportunity of the game, missing a jumper as the clock expired.

Nevada will continue to play in the NIT Season Tip-Off next week, with the bracket, teams and site to be determined on Thursday.